


Typical

by mellivias



Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, I Love You, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 01:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11116629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellivias/pseuds/mellivias
Summary: Grace says the words, "I love you," and for the first time, she means them.





	Typical

“I love yous” were never easy for Grace Hanson. She could count on her fingers the number of times she’d said it to Robert over the span of their 40-year marriage. And the only other people she’d ever said it to were her mother, her children, and her previous fling, Phil. 

With Robert, the sentiment had always been obligatory. He’d drape a newly-purchased string of pearls around her neck on her birthday and she would smile and say she loved him as if it was synonymous with “thank you.” The words never had any weight. They were light on her tongue and quick to dissolve in the empty space between them. 

These days, when she heard Robert tell Sol of his love, the words sounded foreign in his voice. Grace often wondered if he’d ever even said them back to her when they were together. 

With Phil, love was always rushed. Her “I love you” had been hurried, as if if she didn’t say it quickly, he would disappear before her very eyes. He was always disappearing. Grace supposed she did a lot of that too. 

Their “I love you” became “someday” and then it was her hand lifted for a knock on his door that never came. She supposes now that, in a way, her love for Phil had been obligatory too. 

The first time Grace said an “I love you” that wasn’t soaked in unspoken debt, it was in the home that she and Frankie had built together after all these years of taking back the time that had been stolen from them. She was sitting on the couch with Frankie like she always did on Sunday afternoons, a mug in each of their hands, Frankie’s suspicious herbal tea and Grace’s black coffee. 

They’d said “I love you” before. After all, they’d loved each other for a while now. They’d said “I love you” after a long phone call on a hard day, or in a goodnight text from the other side of the beach house. But never like this. 

“I love you,” Grace said, but the words had never sounded quite like this coming from her mouth. 

Frankie peeled her eyes from an episode of Master Chef to look at her friend. At first, she smiled. It wasn’t often that Grace showed unprompted affection. But when she saw the look on her face, Frankie froze. 

Grace was looking at her that way she sometimes did. Only usually, when Frankie caught her looking, Grace would turn away, embarrassed. But now, her eye contact was unwavering. 

And Frankie knew. 

She knew what Grace’s words meant, and she buried them in that place inside her chest where she kept her “Grace feelings”. 

This wasn’t just a passing remark or a display of platonic respect. This was the love that they’d both been yearning for for what felt like an eternity. And all the time, it had been right here in front of them. 

“Typical,” Frankie said. 

“What?” Grace said, startled. 

Frankie just smiled, and after a beat, she kissed her. 

And that was all there was to it. Grace loved Frankie. And Frankie loved Grace.


End file.
